International Admissions

A trusted English boarding school for families around the world

When you are choosing a school in another country, trust matters more than anything. St Catherine’s has welcomed boarders from around the world since 1885, and every year our community is enriched by girls who travel here to study, board and make friends for life.

Parents tell us they value the full immersion in a genuine British school that also welcomes day girls. Our boarders do not live in an international bubble. Every day they mix with girls from across the UK, are invited into their friends’ homes, and become confident, fluent English speakers long before they leave.

REASSURANCE, WHEREVER YOU ARE APPLYING FROM

Wherever in the world you are, the same questions matter: will she be safe, will she be happy, and will she be well prepared for the future? Here is how we answer them.

From Europe. We welcome full boarders and short-stay language immersion students from France, Germany, Spain and beyond. Many families choose a few weeks or a term to experience a British education before committing to longer.

From East Asia and further afield. As a Highly Trusted Sponsor under UK Visas and Immigration, we guide families through every step of the Child Student Visa and CAS process, and we require a UK guardian so your daughter always has someone close at hand.

For every family. We are less than an hour from Heathrow and Gatwick, with a resident nurse on call 24 hours a day and boarding houses led by a Head of House who is also a qualified teacher.

SETTLING IN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE

A good level of written and spoken English is needed before your daughter joins us, especially at Sixth Form. Before she arrives, a member of our English Department will be in touch to suggest wider reading and to offer a friendly face for her first days. Where extra support would help, our qualified EAL staff can arrange a short course of lessons. Girls may also sit public examinations in their first language where UK exam boards offer them.

BOARDING THAT FEELS LIKE HOME

Our boarding staff are one of our greatest strengths. Girls move through our houses as they grow: Junior House for those in Years 7 and 8, Senior House for those in Years 9 to 11, and The 6, our purpose-built Sixth Form house with 44 study bedrooms. Each has its own bright common room and kitchen, and a Head of House who takes a genuine interest in every girl’s wellbeing and progress.

Our boarding houses Boarding life Weekend programme

GUARDIANS

Every international boarder must have a UK guardian: an adult who can offer support in person during term time and in the holidays. Ideally this is someone known to your family, but guardians can also be arranged through professional agencies. We recommend choosing an organisation accredited by AEGIS, the authoritative body for UK guardianship, so you can be confident in the quality of care.

ENTRY POINTS AND ASSESSMENTS

11+ entry. Assessment in January in English, Mathematics, Science and Verbal Reasoning. No interview.

13+ entry. Assessment in October or November in English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning, plus an interview.

16+ entry. An online pre-screening assessment, then papers in three chosen A Level subjects and an interview.

Where a girl cannot travel to St Catherine’s, papers may be sat at a British Council approved centre, followed by an online interview. A confidential report is requested from her current school.

If you happen to miss a deadline, we warmly welcome applications at any time and will be happy to consider them when spaces become available.

WHERE OUR GIRLS GO NEXT

Our girls earn offers from leading universities in the UK and overseas, recently including Modern Languages at Durham, Engineering at UCL, Physics at Oxford, International Relations at St Andrews, Medicine at Birmingham, and Communications and Design at the Pratt Institute in New York.

“We feel our daughter, as a boarder, has really found a new family away from home, people who show as much care and affection as her own parents would.” Mr and Mrs Bratulić, current parents

YOUR NEXT STEP

We would love to welcome you. Our Director of Admissions, Mrs Clare Woodgates, will personally guide you through every stage.

Email admissions@stcatherines.info or call +44 (0)1483 899609. Apply to join Request a prospectus

Application Process

Steps to Joining

Age Group Comparisons

Entrance Assessments

11+ Admissions

We are excited to be moving to the ISEB Common Pre-Tests for 11+ entry in September 2027. All candidates will sit the online ISEB Common Pre-Tests during the first term of Year 6; an age-standardised tests for pupils applying for independent senior schools.

The tests comprise English (40 minutes), Mathematics (40 minutes), Non-Verbal Reasoning (30 minutes) and Verbal Reasoning (25 minutes). Further information about the ISEB Common Pre-Tests can be found here - ISEB Pre-Tests | Test Walkthrough

The ISEB Pre-Tests are usually completed at your child’s current school on a date decided by them in October or November. If current schools are unable to invigilate the tests, candidates will be able to sit them at St Catherine’s during the week commencing 16^th November – the exact date will be confirmed shortly.

All tests must be completed by our deadline of Monday 30^th November 2026 either at current schools or at St Catherine’s.

Prior to sitting the ISEB Common Pre-Tests, candidates are invited to attend our Experience and Interview Day on Saturday 7^th November 2026.

11+ Scholarship Assessments

Scholarship Assessments will be held in November and will be offered in conjunction with entrance assessment results.

12+ and 13+ Admissions

Candidates will sit assessments in English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning. Following the assessments, candidates will be invited for interview.

Sixth Form Admissions

We welcome a number of new girls - day and boarding - into the Sixth Form each year. Assessment is by examination and interview. At registration, girls nominate their likely choice of subjects for Sixth Form study and on the Assessment Day will sit three subject specific tests, each of approximately 30 minutes duration, plus an online general test lasting 90 minutes which gives an indication of IQ and academic potential. Successful candidates are interviewed in person or online by subject teachers and senior staff. Girls should have a minimum of six GCSEs at Grade 6 and above, including Maths and English. Grade 7 is preferable in subjects chosen for A Level study.

Request a Prospectus

EAL provision

A high proficiency in written and spoken English is required before a girl joins St Catherine's, especially at Sixth Form level. Girls admitted to the School need to have a level of fluency in written and spoken English that will enable them to access the curriculum for their age group. We assess each girl’s English during the entrance examination and interview process. During their time at St Catherine's our international boarders develop into extremely fluent users of the English language.

Before she joins the School, a member of the English Department will be in contact with each new overseas boarder to suggest some wider reading. Girls find this beneficial and they have a friendly staff face to turn to on arrival for ongoing encouragement with wider reading.

Very occasionally, if a girl is finding her confidence in English is holding her back, a member of staff who is a qualified EAL teacher may be asked to assess her needs. Should there be a need for a short course of support lessons, these can be arranged, with parents’ permission, and will be billed as an extra.

Girls joining us from overseas may also take public examinations in their native languages if these are provided by the UK examination boards. We have a member of staff who coordinates such exam entries and any top up coaching required in those languages.

Student Visa

Child Student Visa

UK Visa and Immigration
Many students from non-EU countries will require a visa to study at St Catherine’s. If you are a national of a country which is not in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you will need to have permission to study in the UK.

Further information can be found here: www.gov.uk/child-study-visa

St Catherine’s is a Highly Trusted Sponsor under the UK Visas & Immigration’s student visa system. This means that we are able to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) numbers to girls who are offered and accept a place at St Catherine’s. Please note that our CAS are primarily reserved for our overseas boarders, we do not sponsor Day pupils under the student visa system.

In order to provide your daughter/client with a CAS number, we will need a copy of her passport and details of her UK-based guardian. Please note – girls aged 16 or 17 years old may be required to have an interview with a member of UKVI staff as part of their visa application process and may be required to register with the local police station on arrival.

eVisa

When your entry clearance student visa has been granted, you will be issued a 90-day entry time scale. You must arrive in the UK on or after the start date on your eVisa.

Your visa will be electronic and you will need to register for a UKVI account for eVisa access. You will then be able to generate a share code to share with the school, and your eVisa status can be recorded on the school’s records.

Please also refer to our School’s Visa Policy which can be found here.

Guardians

St Catherine's regards the role of guardian as essential in providing support for those girls at the school whose parents live overseas or some distance away from home in the UK and requires parents of full boarders to appoint a guardian as a priority. It is hoped that the guardian and his or her family will establish a close personal relationship with his/her ward, who should feel secure that the guardian will provide sympathetic support and interest whenever it is needed, a presence at school in the case of an emergency of any kind, and a ‘home from home’ in the UK when that might be needed.

Whilst a boarder is at St Catherine’s, her boarding housemistress and also her school housemistress and/or tutor as well as the Medical Centre staff will take responsibility for her academic progress and welfare, but there are times during the academic year when the school must be able to hand over these responsibilities to a properly appointed guardian who can represent the parents and work closely with the School.

The School welcomes guardians to School functions - new girls' induction events, plays, matches, parents' meetings, concerts etc. Guardians will be sent information about dates and other communications as appropriate via the school Clarion Call email system and parents should note that Guardians will be given No 1 priority along with them on that system so that they are fully informed about school activities and can represent parents appropriately.

A guardian is defined as an adult – i.e. someone over the age of 21, but preferably over 25 - who can be on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week to offer parental, logistical and emergency support to the student, parents and school during term time and in the holidays if the student remains in the UK. For students who are at St Catherine’s sponsored by a Tier 4 Visa, it is important that a girl’s whereabouts in the UK is known and guaranteed at all times when she is not in School and for that reason, a guardian is also very important in the holiday period.

Ideally, the guardian should be someone known to the girl and her family but this is not always possible. Some families appoint a relative or close friend as guardian but if you do not have a relative based in the UK who fits the role, guardians can also be arranged through professional agencies. The School is not allowed to recommend specific people. However, the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students (AEGIS) is the authoritative association for inspecting and accrediting UK Guardianship Organisations in accordance with a strict Code of Practice and current childcare and child protection legislation. By choosing one of the AEGIS accredited guardianship organisations, parents can be sure that their daughter will receive quality guardianship and support during her stay in the UK. www.aegisuk.net

Agents

St Catherine’s School is happy to engage with Agents should you wish to appoint one to represent and support you and your child through the admissions process. The Agent’s details must be advised by you to the Director of Admissions, Clare Woodgates at admissions@stcatherines.info at the point of Registration as this will grant us permission to include them on all correspondence. If you do decide to appoint an Agent, please note that St Catherine’s School will not enter into a formal relationship with the Agent, issue contracts or pay commission. Any charges incurred by appointing an Agent are not the responsibility of St Catherine’s School.

St Catherine’s School have partnership agreements with a small number of Educational Agents in different geographical territories.

Home from home

Surrounding area

St Catherine's is situated in a beautiful part of South East England adjacent to the Surrey Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Although we are surrounded by miles of beautiful countryside and are nestled in a typical English village, we are also fortunate to be less than an hour from two international airports - Heathrow and Gatwick, making the start and end of terms so much easier.

St Catherine’s offers a safe and secure environment without being isolated. We believe we offer the perfect location for international boarders!

The local town, Guildford, is just 5 kilometres away and offers shopping, theatres, multiplex cinema, sports centre and 4 trains per hour to London Waterloo. This means all cultural and historic London attractions can be reached in just an hour, giving St Catherine's the edge when it comes to arranging weekend activities.

Boarding Staff & Houses

Our Boarding staff are one of our great strengths. Each of the 4 Boarding Housemistresses lead their Houses with professionalism, dedication and warmth, making boarding a home-from-home experience. Each of them is a trained teacher in her own right, enabling them to take an interest in each girls’ pastoral and academic welfare with genuine understanding.

As member of the teaching staff they are in touch with the girls' teachers throughout the day. There is also a full team of academic resident boarding staff who are always ready to help the girls. They represent a wide range of subjects including Mathematics, the Sciences, Languages and Arts.

Junior House:

Girls who enter at 11+ join Junior House with its shared dormitories are bright and airy, decorated thematically - savannah, rain forest, mountains, English garden etc. Girls have access to a large common room and kitchen which they enjoy using at the end of the school day, chatting with boarding buddies and where they can play lots of games together.

Senior House:

At 14+ boarders join Senior House where the girls to have a little more independence but still under careful supervision.

Girls share large dormitories, a room where they complete their prep in the evenings with individual deskspace for everyone and, of course, a light and bright common room and kitchen for convivial times!

Sixth Form - The 6

Finally, The 6. is our brand new boarding house for the Sixth Form only. Opened in Spring of 2021 with 44 double study bedrooms, a common room, kitchen and bright, modern shared and individual bathrooms, The 6 is an amazing space, and is the perfect preparation for university life.

For more about our Boarding Houses, click here.

Weekend Programme

Medical

It is reassuring for parents and girls to know that St Catherine's has a superb team of medical professionals on hand . Boarders have access to a trained, resident nurse 24/7.

We have a dedicated Health Centre with accommodation for any girls who are unwell and require extra medical supervision until they are well enough to return to their boarding house. Please follow this link for further details:

Our Medical Team

Mrs Linda Green RGN (Senior Nursing Sister)
Mrs Dominique Barnett RGN
Mrs Maya Garside RGN
Mrs Lauretta Pope RGN
Mrs Rachel Clark RN BSc

Exeats & Holidays

All girls either go home in the school holidays or stay with pre-agreed guardians. It is compulsory for every International Boarder to have a designated guardian. Please speak to the Registrar who can offer you further information.

The major holidays are:
Autumn Half Term - one week at the end of October/beginning November
Christmas - approx 3 weeks - December/January
Spring Half Term - mid February
Easter - approx 3 weeks March/April
Summer Half Term - one week at the end of May
Summer Holiday - approx 8 weeks July/August returning first week in September

Please click here for precise future holiday dates.

Exeats:
There is just ONE compulsory exeat which is the weekend preceding the first Monday in May. This happens to be a UK public holiday, when there will be no staff on duty.

The House System

Uni & Careers

FAQ

How does my daughter get from the airport to and from school?

At the end of term - lunchtime on the final Thursday - coach transfer is arranged to London Heathrow, all terminals, and luggage will have been loaded in advance. Packed lunch is supplied. For other destinations, either at the same time, or later in the afternoon, taxis are booked for individuals or groups of girls. Charges are put on the girls' fee bills for these transfers.

At the start of term, girls arriving make requests for transfers to the School which are booked for them. They quickly learn to share together if possible when several come from the same flight.

Alternatively, guardians or family in the UK are welcome to organise the transfers to and from school themselves. Sometimes overseas boarders do not return home immediately and might go to their guardian to await a flight at the right time the next day, or may spend a few days with a day girl friend. In those situations, the relevant adult would pick them up and parents would be asked to give their consent for that.

Travel arrangements are requested from families several weeks in advance of the beginning or end of each term and prompt responses are always very helpful to us to ensure we can secure the exact requirements for transfers to and from the airports. The boarding housemistresses discuss arrangements with the girls and at Sixth Form Level only they start to take a higher level of responsibility for organising their own transport, with you and their housemistress in the loop.

The arrival times at the start of term are published here and girls must be back by the stated time. Similarly, at the ends of terms, they may not leave until 1.00 pm on the final Thursday.

Important note: All our taxi drivers come from a firm known to us and are safeguarding checked. We use htis firm regularly throughout the term. The same applies to our coach companies.

How do I watch any school events that my daughter is in?

We know how important it is for you to feel involved in the life of the St Catherine’s community and to see your daughter in action – be that on the stage, in the Orchestra or perhaps receiving an Award on Speech Day. We want you to feel the pride your daughter feels as she takes her place amongst her peers and experiences all that a British Boarding school life has to offer.

We make every effort to make significant School events accessible to you – either streamed live so you can view them over the web as they happen or as recorded events so you, grandparents and friends can enjoy them at your leisure. As an example, recent events that overseas parents have joined us for via the Live Event Streaming are Chamber Music Concert, a Lecture by alumna Professor Beverley McKeon, Professor of Aeronautics, The House Drama Competition, the GCSE Presentation Evening, a Meet the Tutors event, the Gala Concert and St Catherine’s Presents: Lucinda Hawksley on Charles Dickens.

These events are made accessible via a private community portal and you will be sent links and instructions as to how to view.

How does my daughter get her clothes cleaned?

In the boarding houses, from age 11 to 16, our wonderful team of housekeepers look after your laundry and will wash clothes each week day. Each girl puts their sorted washing in a labelled basket in the laundry room. You then collect your clothes from the laundry shelves when they are clean and dry – usually the next day. With all your uniform and own clothes carefully labelled you’ll be sure to find your clothes easily. In the Sixth Form, girls have access to washing machines and dryers and, in readiness for University, manage their own laundry. Bed linen is washed once a week.

What Universities do your students go to?

We have an enviable reputation for girls gaining offers from top Universities in the UK and further afield. For example, our girls are currently studying Modern Languages at Durham, Engineering at UCL, Physics at Oxford, International Relations at St Andrews, Medicine at Birmingham and Communications and Design at the Pratt Institute, New York. For a full list of the University choices of our girls please see the ‘Destination of Leavers’ information below.

In an increasingly competitive application process, your daughter will be offered advice and encouragement every step of the way. She will also benefit from a network of St Catherine’s young alumnae who are at a wide range of Universities studying courses that she might be interested in. The St Catherine’s Association can connect her to these alumnae to learn so much more than is in a prospectus or published online.

Destination of Leavers

Short-Stay Language Immersion

We welcome girls from across the world for short-stay language immersion and have a number of girls studying and living with us from Germany, France, Spain and other European countries and those further afield. Please view our films to find out more about this opportunity to experience a British education at St Catherine’s.